


It's A Date

by TigerLily



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: M/M, beginning relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-04
Updated: 2012-11-04
Packaged: 2017-11-17 23:27:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/554369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerLily/pseuds/TigerLily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint asks Bruce on a brunch date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's A Date

Clint tried to discreetly follow Bruce from the Tower, but the other man spotted him after the first block.

Bruce shook his head and stepped out of the flow of mid-morning pedestrian traffic. He leaned against the side of a building and waited for Clint to catch up.

When the archer did, Bruce fell easily into step beside him.

“You know it’s not a good idea to sneak up on me,” Bruce reminded Clint breaking the silence between them.

“If Tony can sneak up on you with his little cattle prod, I doubt me trying to keep you safe on the way to tai chi class will bring the Other Guy out to play,” Clint countered with a small, knowing smile.

“Good point,” Bruce murmured. “But you don’t have to, you know.”

“I know.”

“So why do you?”

“I like spending time with you,” Clint answered.

“You can’t do that at the Tower?”

“Not with Tony constantly hogging your time with his crazy ideas.”

“Yes, there is that,” Bruce agreed. He liked Tony and enjoyed spending time with the billionaire, but sometimes he found that he craved the solitude he had found while he had been on the run.

“So you wanna grab brunch after your class?”

“Are you asking me out on a date, Agent Barton?” Bruce teased.

“If you say yes, then yes I am, Doctor Banner,” Clint teased back.

“Yes.”

Clint smiled and caught hold of Bruce’s hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze before letting it go.

Bruce ducked his head to hide his embarrassment and softly smiled. It was the everyday little touches that were bestowed on him by his fellow Avengers that told him more than words that he was welcome in their midst and always would be.

“You know you’re adorable when you’re embarrassed,” Clint said just as they entered Central Park.

“Tell that to the Other Guy,” Bruce grumbled.

“Oh, I bet he’s listening right now.”

Bruce sighed. Clint was right. He could hear the Other Guy in the back of his mind rumbling in amusement. “He likes you.”

“I like him.”

“Do you?”

Clint knew he had to carefully answer that question, so he stopped and calmly regarded Bruce. “I won’t lie and say he isn’t handy in a fight, because he is. But, he’s capable of being more than a destructive monster. He saved Tony during the Chitauri Invasion and he’s kept us all safe in the last few battles.”

“Um...”

“I know he can be scary, but I trust him not to hurt me.”

“What about me?”

“What about you?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” Clint replied being bold and leaning in to softly kiss Bruce on the mouth. “Now go have a good class.”

“Where are you going to be?” Bruce asked trying not to think about why Clint suddenly kissed him.

“Around.”

“Be careful,” Bruce cautioned. “If you fall out of a tree, Natasha isn’t going to be very happy with me.”

“You let me worry about Natasha.”

“We normally do.”

“She’s really not that scary.”

“I’m going to let you keep thinking that.”

Clint softly laughed. “Go on you’ll be late.”

“Wouldn’t do for the teacher to be late, now would it?”

“No,” Clint replied. “I’ll meet you here afterwards and we can go on our date.”

“I’m holding you to do that,” Bruce said before leaning forward and shyly kissing Clint on the mouth and then hurrying off.

Clint smiled and made his way toward his favorite vantage point in the park.

* & * & *

Bruce returned to their rendezvous point, but Clint was no where to be found. He decided to give the other man another five minutes and then he would start to worry.

Clint came strolling up four minutes later carrying a balloon dog and wearing a silly grin. “I got you a little gift,” he said holding out the balloon dog, which was green and reminded Bruce of a wiener dog.

Bruce took the balloon dog with a smile. “Thank you.”

“Don’t let Tony pop it,” Clint cautioned.

“I’ll put it on the bookcase in my room with a note warning of dire consequences should anyone touch it,” Bruce replied with an amused note in his voice.

“How dire?”

“A training session with the Other Guy.”

“That’ll be effective.”

“We thought so.”

Clint chuckled. It was rare for Bruce and the Other Guy to agree on something unless it was of major importance.

“I’m hungry,” Bruce stated.

“Good,” Clint replied. “I know just the place to take care of that.”

* & * & *

The place Clint had in mind was several blocks south of Central Park and catered to a diverse clientele. He knew Bruce would be able to find something vegetarian there to eat.

They walked in and found an empty table close to the back near a window and softly laughed at their shared paranoia.

“Have you been here before?” Bruce inquired as he perused the menu after the waitress poured a glass of water for each of them.

“No,” Clint admitted. “I overheard some of Tony’s geeks talk about this place and thought we could try it.”

“Tony’s geeks?”

“I may have been hanging out on the R&D levels again,” Clint admitted with a hint of chagrin in his voice.

“I thought he restricted your access to those levels.”

“He gave it back when I promised not to pop out of the ceiling and scare his protégés to death.”

Bruce softly laughed.

Clint smiled. It was nice to hear Bruce laugh, and knowing that he was responsible for it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. A feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time. “So any idea what you’re going to get?”

“A vegetarian cheese burger with sweet potato fries and a chocolate milkshake.”

“Somehow, I don’t think a milkshake is very healthy for you.”

“The Other Guy is addicted to them.”

“So am I,” Clint admitted.

“Then let’s be unhealthy together,” Bruce suggested just as the waitress returned to take their orders.

* & * & *

“That was nice,” Bruce remarked as they stepped outside of the diner.

“It was,” Clint agreed. “You in a hurry to get back to the Tower?”

“Not really. I left Tony babysitting some of my experiments, so what do you have in mind?”

“Is that wise?”

“It’s not as dangerous as letting Dummy and Butterfingers.”

“Good point,” Clint remarked. He like the other Avengers had developed a fondness for Tony’s first A.I.s. “I thought maybe we could go to the Met and see what’s new.”

“I like the sound of that,” Bruce said as he held out his hand.

Clint slipped his hand into Bruce’s and twined their fingers together before setting off on another shared adventure.


End file.
